Lesson 34 3/4: three beats per bar
- Introduction
- 3/4
- 60 bpm
- 8 bars
- 22 claps
- New: 3/4 time
About this exercise
The 3/4 time signature has 3 beats per bar and is the basis of the waltz. Count "1, 2, 3" and give the 1 a little more weight. There are 7 bars of quarter notes and an ending with a half note and a quarter rest.
After many exercises in 4/4, people often add a fourth beat without noticing, especially when moving from one bar to the next. Listen to the metronome and make sure the 1 comes back every three clicks.
Before you start
In 3/4 time each bar has 3 beats. Count "1, 2, 3 | 1, 2, 3" and feel beat 1 a little stronger. It's the time of the waltz.
View Details
How to play it
- Count-in: the site counts 1 bar before starting ("1 2 3"). Clap the first note on beat 1 of bar 1.
- Reading: read the line on the yellow strip and look ahead to the next one: that's how you read ahead.
- Hands together: on notes longer than 1 beat (half note) clap and keep your hands together until the end of the note: hands together = the sound keeps going.
- Rests: hands open, no clapping, and keep counting in silence.
How to practice
- Say the count out loud, without clapping, looking at the Bar by bar table.
- In Together mode, count and clap at the same time as the character.
- In Your turn mode, clap on your own. If it's hard, slow down and then come back.
Bar by bar
Bold = clap · (n) = don't clap, the sound keeps going (hands together) · [n] = rest, hands open.
| Bar | Notes | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 2 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 3 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 4 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 5 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 6 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 7 | 3 quarter notes | 1 2 3 |
| 8 | half note, quarter rest | 1 (2) [3] |
Notes used: half note, quarter note, quarter rest.